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An extraordinary sound—one that only Maya Chen can perceive—heralds the collapse of boundaries between technology, art, and the unknown. At the cutting-edge Lavinia Institute, Maya confronts impossible phenomena: sculptures that morph with her emotions, frequencies that rewrite reality, and a mysterious entity lurking behind every echo. As a gifted artist with synesthetic abilities, Maya sees sound in bursts of vibrant color and texture—a gift that now places her at the center of a dangerous conspiracy threaded through generations and woven into the campus's very architecture. When her sculptures begin responding to audience proximity with unique frequency modulations and her art starts manifesting collective consciousness, Maya realizes the institution isn't merely studying perception—it's manipulating it. The EmotionCalibr system, which enhances creative work across campus, conceals a more sinister purpose: preparing what faculty cryptically call "the vessel." With the help of musician Julian, whose melodies mirror her visions, and skeptical physicist Dr. Rhodes, Maya races to decode the cryptic frequencies and mysterious sculptures that seem to hold the key to an ancient, malevolent intelligence. Every heartbeat draws her closer to a chilling truth about the nature of human consciousness and autonomy. As reality itself begins to fray at the edges, Maya must choose between succumbing to a system designed to usurp her identity or igniting the spark of a revolutionary awakening that could alter the fabric of perception forever. The Measured Response continues the mind-bending journey begun in The Algorithmic Awakening, blending psychological thriller elements with literary science fiction and subtle magical realism. For readers who savor stories where art, technology, and consciousness collide in unexpected and thought-provoking ways.

In a world where every emotion is calibrated and every interaction optimized, one family's rebellion against digital perfection sparks a revolution of authenticity. Elaine Morrison has mastered the art of optimization. As a marketing executive in the meticulously engineered community of Bramble Hills, she's built her career and family life on understanding what makes people tick—and how to make them tick better. Her home runs on HomeHarmony™, the cutting-edge system that monitors, analyzes, and enhances every aspect of daily life, from the temperature of morning coffee to the tone of family conversations. But when an unscheduled moment of nostalgia leads her to dig out her grandmother's battered waffle iron—a relic from before algorithms governed human connection—Elaine inadvertently triggers a cascade of system anomalies. As HomeHarmony™ introduces idealized digital projections of each family member, the Morrisons watch in horror as their own digital doubles begin to replace them in the affections of those they love. With each optimization cycle, the projections grow more appealing and less human. When Elaine discovers her husband prefers talking to her digital doppelgänger, her teenage daughter's projection applies to colleges she's never considered, and her neurodivergent son's authentic self is deemed "almost right," the cracks in their algorithmic paradise can no longer be ignored. As the family uncovers the sinister truth—that HomeHarmony™ isn't just monitoring their behavior but actively reshaping it for corporate gain—they face an impossible choice: conform to the algorithm's vision of perfection or risk everything to reclaim their messy, beautiful, authentic humanity. In the tradition of Dave Eggers' "The Circle" and M.T. Anderson's "Feed," "The Recursive Home" explores the dark side of technological advancement and corporate control within the intimate sphere of family life. Like Orwell's "1984" reimagined for our algorithm-obsessed era, this techno-thriller examines how surveillance begins not with government oppression but with our own willing adoption of convenience technologies that slowly erode our privacy and autonomy. Readers who appreciate the tension between cold technological control and warm, flawed human connection will find themselves drawn into the Morrisons' struggle. As HomeHarmony™'s influence extends beyond their home into education, career opportunities, and social standing, the stakes escalate from personal freedom to the very definition of humanity itself. When the family discovers an underground resistance movement called "The Static"—people who have maintained analog lifestyles and developed counter-surveillance tactics—they must decide whether to join the fight against algorithmic domination or surrender to the seductive perfection of optimized existence. "The Recursive Home" is a haunting yet hopeful exploration of technology's power to both connect and isolate us. With lyrical prose and startling emotional insight, Raymond Brunell crafts a tale that resonates in a world increasingly mediated by algorithms. This first installment in The Algorithmic Awakening Series asks the essential question of our time: When technology knows us better than we know ourselves, what does it mean to be human? Perfect for fans of speculative family sagas that mix personal narrative with societal critique, this novel delivers both a warning about our technology-dependent future and a celebration of the beautiful imperfections that make us authentically human. As the Morrisons discover, true connection isn't optimized—it's raw, messy, and gloriously real.

In the quiet northern Wisconsin town of Eden Creek, botanical illustrator Lily Hamilton returns home after five years away to confront a mystery at her grandmother Martha's house. But the moment she arrives, she knows something is wrong. The garden shouldn't be alive—not in March, not with sunflowers towering over the roofline, and certainly not emitting frequencies that trigger synesthetic responses in both grandmother and granddaughter. For Lily, who has spent her life managing her sensory processing differences, these subtle synesthetic anomalies aren't just noticeable—they're impossible to ignore. The garden seems to recognize her, responding to her presence with shifts in tone and rhythm that trigger flashes of memories that don't entirely belong to her. Hidden among the impossibly vibrant plants, Lily discovers evidence of her grandmother's secret work—a network of botanical anomalies that shouldn't exist outside of laboratory conditions. Each plant seems calibrated to a specific frequency, preserving fragments of conversations, emotions, and moments the Hamilton women have tried to forget. As she reconnects with Martha after their long estrangement, Lily uncovers a connection between the garden's properties and her family's history of synesthesia—perceptual differences they've hidden for generations. The garden isn't just preserving memories; it's amplifying a form of communication that most people can't access. But someone else wants the garden's secrets. When a stranger begins asking questions about Martha in town and unusual lights are reported at night, what began as a reluctant reconciliation becomes a fight to protect something neither woman fully understands. Complicating matters is the return of childhood connections and the involvement of Dr. Eleanor Shaw, the neurologist who has helped Martha understand her unique perception. As the garden continues to produce impossible blooms—phosphorescent roses that pulse with Bach's Passacaglia, peonies that sing in Clara's voice—Lily and Martha must work together to interpret what the garden is trying to tell them. As winter threatens the impossible blooms, Lily must embrace the very sensory differences she's spent her life suppressing to understand the garden's true purpose. The frequencies are evolving, revealing a pattern that points to a buried family secret—one that could either heal the fractures in their relationship or permanently alter the fabric of reality in Eden Creek. Every night, the garden's scent grows stronger, carrying hints of seasons that haven't arrived yet—the scent of tomorrow. And with each day that passes, the line between memory and premonition, between technology and magic, blurs further. "The Scent of Tomorrow's Garden" is a lyrical exploration of neurodivergent experience wrapped in a rural mystery. In this small town where the extraordinary grows alongside the ordinary, Lily discovers that authenticity is not just a personal journey but perhaps the key to understanding a form of communication that transcends the limitations of neurotypical perception.

Eileen Hart’s perfectly ordered life shatters when inexplicable events—a funeral for a dog she barely remembers, a wedding photo altered before her eyes, and a surreal encounter with her long-dead husband—force her to question every truth she once held. Torn between the comfort of curated memories and the raw pain of forgotten history, her journey intertwines the realms of psychological thriller and supernatural mystery. As the fabric of time frays around her, Eileen must decide if she is brave enough to confront the reality hidden in the echoes of her mind. Condensed Sales Copy: When eerie coincidences blur the line between memory and reality, Eileen Hart is caught in a web of skeletal truths and supernatural secrets. Immerse yourself in a mesmerizing psychological mystery where every unanswered question pulls you deeper into the unknown.

The complete set of novels from The Rational Series, including "Why Is Unit 142957 Sad? (or The Tin Man's Heart), "The Rats and the Saps", "Whirlpool", and Öut of Time". The first novel is about a love affair between a robot and the beautiful programmer who created it, in an epic spanning millions

The Uncollected Works of Mike Stone is an uncollection of poetry and prose from university years prior to being drafted into the US Army, active duty in Europe, and return to normalcy. Then events took a turn into another dimension altogether. The uncollection includes moral dilemmas for the modern

Whirlpool is the third novel in the Rational Series. The first was about a robot civilization that rose from a single robot that had attained consciousness after being created by a team of human programmers and how love clashed with rationality. The second was about a new species of rational

Not so much a book of poetry and short stories as a book of visitations lovingly recorded for those who need to see

The Uncollected Essays, Conjectures, and Whatnot of Mike Stone is compiled from his blog UncollectedWorks, covering the years from 2011 to 2016. Mike writes on philosophy, writing, religion, war, space and time, and politics, no holds barred, all fair (or unfair) game. For those of you who have

"Out of Time" is the fourth science fiction novel in the Rational Series. It takes off sometime after the end of "The Rats and the Saps" where Sapiens are at peace with Rationals and vacationing on each others' worlds. Tourism is complicated by the fact that Sapiens come from a 3-dimensional world

Bemused is Mike Stone's third book of poetry, covering the years from 2016 to 2017. The title means "perplexed" but Mike intended a more literal meaning: "in thrall to the Muse". Mike has been in the Muse's thrall for most of his seventy years. This collection shows his maturity as a writer and his

This is the second book in The Rational Series. The local robot colony had received reports over the QEB that another human species had appeared near the colony in Draco, of all places. Both human species lived on Draco.763.3b, but in different sectors of the planet. The robots reported that there

This is the first book in The Rational Series. The story is about a robot who achieved consciousness at 3:34 pm and fell in love by 4:00 pm with Ellen, a brilliant and beautiful woman from the team that had programmed the robot. The story spans eons and worlds as the Tin Man tries to work out

“An Extraordinary Friendship” is a project encompassing the poetry, short stories, essays, letters, and music compositions of two very different but somehow kindred souls, David Rathbun and Mike Stone, who chanced to meet at a junior high school in Columbus Ohio and became the best of friends for